... as much as i enjoyed pouring it out yesterday? because i sure did pour you an overflowing glass of it...

seems that i forgot that THIS was our family’s Bible verse. chosen by me. hmmmm, wonder why God put this one in my mind years ago...

philippians 2:14-15

Do everything without grumbling or arguing,

so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life.

and in an extensive search of the greek word “everything” (which is actually “ALL THINGS”) in that verse, i find that it does indeed cover “all-state field trips to tampa”, it also contains a reference to “having to share a hotel room with strangers”, and even can include “listening to middle schoolers sing all day for several days”. wow. that greek is really all encompassing.

and then there was this little perspective that i had last night...

the other two boys going are maxx’s friends that he has had since preschool. the boys who went on a field trip in fifth grade and when they came home... their mom had gone Home. i remember picking maxx up that day and he was so sad. almost inconsolable. we talked about how we knew that mrs. luca was going to be going to Heaven soon and that now she was healed and not in pain anymore. and maxx said, “i just never realized that you could go on a field trip and come home and your mom not be there”.

and God has given me a chance to be the mom that is there. there for the field trips. there for the class parties. the birthday parties. the concerts. the cross country meets. waking him up every morning. hugging him and realizing he is taller than me every night. having him eat second and third dinners at night. cleaning up after those second and third dinners. the myriad of chance to remind him to brush his teeth, grab his lunch, and put away his shoes. daily. i am the mom who is still home.

who could ever grumble or complain or whine about that? umm, i could. for a while. until Jesus reminds me of a field trip that He took once. a field trip that He took for me (and for you and the whole world). it involved sleeping in a barn with a lot of strangers around him (and some animals nuzzling him). listening to a crowd jeer and mock and cry out for His death. it ended not with a concert but a cross. and He did it “for the joy set before Him”. the joy of a sinner like me coming to know Him one day. and the joy of my repentance when i do fall into grumbling. the joy of seeing me cling to the cross as the only thing that is good in me. and for me.

* and for all of my baptist readers who read db’s comment yesterday... he meant “sparkling grape juice” at the marriage feast of the Lamb. “sparkling grape juice”.